Truth Behind the Lies
by Minuit-the-Cat
Summary: Mint gets a letter from home, asking her to come home, and she decides to, but some of her friends ask her to come along. But Mint has a secret that she won't tell them about, and the consequences may send them on the adventure of a lifetime. R
1. The Letter and the Memories

**When Mint gets a letter from her father asking her to come home, Mint thinks about the past and all the mistakes she had made. As she gets ready to leave to go back to her hometown, some of her friends ask to come along. Join us as we discover what made her leave her family, and more importantly, what made her not want to return.**

This story is mainly out of Happy Tree Town, so there's no deaths YAY. :3 *cough* Well, there is ONE, but it's in a flashback...

* * *

_September 22, 1998_

_143 Oak St.,_

_Veronnaville, GA_

_My Dearest Minuit,_

_I'm sorry for what I said to you going on five years ago. I was being foolish. I know now that I should have been supportive of your wish to be a mime, I just couldn't imagine you becoming like my brother. Your Uncle Berenger regrets giving you that book telling you all about mimes. He never thought you would actually give up your right to speak and sing. I'm guessing by now, though, you're already a mime..._

_I also bet you're wondering how I got your address. We looked for you using computers and found you in that little town, Happy Tree Town. Your step-mother misses you, also. I must say we regret fully about telling you to give up on being a mime._

_But let's get into that. Tell me about your friends, or if you decide to come home, sweet Midnight, tell us then. But I beg you, my sweet Minuit, just return home. The things you left behind haunt us, the little girl we knew is gone. We want you to return home, return to us. We need you here._

_Your Loving and Foolish Father,_

_Audric Bayard_

Mint stared at the letter. She shook her head slightly as tears filled her eyes. _No... _She thought. _Why should I return home to them? Why? _Then Minuit 'Mint' Bayard saw a P.S. on the note.

_P.S. Your friend Briand and his sister Adora both miss you as much as I'm sure you miss them._

Mint shook her head slightly. _Impossible... _she though. _They couldn't possibly remember me! I left so long ago...!_ Mint put the letter down on her table. _Could they possibly really want me to come home? They hate Uncle Berenger for being a mime, wouldn't they hate me just as much for being a mime? Don't they HATE mimes?_ She sat down and stared at the letter. _Nothing's in mother's handwriting, but he mentions her..._ She shook her head again. For the first time since she left, she started missing them. _But... Did I ever NOT miss them...?_ she thought slowly to herself.

She made her decision. She would leave. Family came first. While she was packing, she wondered how she'd let the others know. If she spoke, that would mean she wasn't a TRUE mime, but if she DIDN'T speak, how was she to let them know?

She looked at the letter again and smiled slightly. She sat on the ground and started packing everything in invisible boxes. Then she picked them up one box at a time and put them on the counter. She quickly ran out and ran to a car rental place and went up to the desk. Lumpy looked at her over his newspaper. Mint pointed to a picture of a U-Haul. Lumpy looked at her curiously, then called up some workers. Handy and Splendid seemed to come out of nowhere and she lead them to her house. She started getting her kitchen ware into the back of her car(which she was actually too young to drive) and Handy and Splendid got her couch, love-seat, chair, dining room table, bed, and other big things like that into the back of the U-Haul.

When everything was done, she pointed to a random, empty house and they took the U-Haul there, thinking that that was where she was moving. She quickly ran into the park, holding the letter, and sat down under a tree. Within two hours, all of her friends had come through and seen her, and she had signaled for them to wait.

Giggles had fallen asleep and was leaning on Cuddles' shoulder. The Mole was so-called reading a book, even though he couldn't see. Petunia was trying to straighten Mint's hair up. Mint sighed inaudibly and batted her hands away. Lumpy was staring into space. Pop was playing with Cub, the latter of which was laughing. Flaky was hiding behind Cro-Marmot. Flippy was starting to fall asleep. Nutty was high on sugar at the moment, and Handy and Splendid were having a small argument. Shifty and Lifty were, of course, not there. Disco Bear, though, was being very annoying, trying to flirt with Petunia. Toothy was watching Handy and Splendid argue. Sniffles was eating ants. Russell yawned boredly.

Mime was the only one not there.

Mint frowned, but decided it couldn't be put off any longer. _Sorry, Mime, I gotta get home..._ Mint stood up and gently tapped on Giggles' shoulder, who mumbled something, then opened her eyes.

"Oh, finally gonna tell us what you want to?" Giggles asked with a small yawn. Mint nodded and handed her the note. She read it aloud.

"Who's 'Minuit?' I'm not familiar with that name." Sniffles said. Mint pointed to herself. "But isn't your name Mint?" Mint shook her head. "Minuit... Hey, if you get rid of 'ui,' you have Mint!" Mint nodded and rolled her eyes.

"But why'd he say 'Minuit,' then 'Midnight?'" Cuddles asked, looking at the note. Mint had to think for a few seconds on how to signal this. She pointed to the name 'Minuit' and then 'Midnight,' hoping they understood she meant 'Minuit means Midnight.'

"Are you leaving?" Petunia asked with a frown. Everyone's attention was caught now. Mint nodded slightly. "B-but why?" Mint pointed to the letter. "Does Mime know?" Mint shoo her head and signalled the fact that she couldn't wait another minute and he hadn't come yet. Petunia pulled out her cellular phone and quickly called Mime. When she heard it pick up and heard a small 'thump' on the table, showing that he picked up, Petunia said "Come to the park, now. Mint has something to tell us." Mint had to keep from laughing. _I already told'ja, ya nit-wit._ she thought to herself.

Ten minutes later, Mime arrived on his unicycle, smiling. His smile fell as he saw the sad faces of everyone. He jumped off his unicycle and looked at them questioningly. Giggles handed over the letter. After Mime read it, he looked up with a questioning glance at Mint.

"Did you know her real name was Minuit?" Cuddles asked. Mime shook his head no. "Well, she's leaving today." Mime looked genuinely surprised. He looked over at Mint and pointed to the letter with a questioning look on his face. Mint nodded.

Cub looked at Mint, confused. "Why Mint leave here?" He asked. Mint looked at him, then at Pop. Surely Pop would understand why she was leaving. Her parents actually wanted her to come home!

But Pop was silent. He picked his young son up and walked over to Mint and smiled. "Hope you have fun with your parents again." Then he walked away.

Petunia spoke next. "Can I come with you? I want to come with you!" Mint looked at her, surprised.

"Me too." Giggles said. "It's not like we'd stay forever. But we can be, like, your protection squad and stuff." Mint quickly shook her head, but Mime ran over to her and dropped down on his knees and put his hands together and looked up at her in a way that asked 'please,' complete with puppy-dog eyes. Come on, who could resist that face? She sighed inaudibly and nodded. Mime was immediately happier.

The only ones who decided they wanted to come along were Cuddles, Giggles, Petunia, and Mime. Cuddles said he would drive, just in case they got stopped by a cop. He DID have his license, after all. Mint was in the passenger seat, pointing which way to go. Petunia was in the back seat in the middle, scolding Mint on how dirty her car was. Giggles was listening to an MP3 player and singing along quietly. Mime was in the back seat behind Mint. He was bored so he started tying random-and invisible- bows in Mint's hair.

"Let's listen to a little music." Cuddles said. He turned the radio on, and the song "Riding with Private Malone" was on. Mint bit her lower lip. That had been one of her favorite songs to sing along with. Cuddles laughed slightly. "Wouldn't it be funny if you opened the glove compartment and found that very same note?"

_Wrong kind of car, wrong year._ Minuit thought to herself. She faked a smile. She was staring out the window of the car. They were on the interstate. They had to go straight for the next hour and a half or so. One problem; Mint was feeling really tired.

"Hey, I'll take the map and say which way to go." Petunia said. Mint glanced back and smiled slightly. They'd have to wait until they stop, though.

They stopped at a restauraunt to get something to eat, then they got back into the car. Only Petunia and Mint had traded places. Thirty minutes later, Mint had fallen asleep. Her head was leaning on Mime's shoulder. Mime glanced at her, then looked back out the window. He sighed inaudibly.

_I'm bored..._ he thought to himself. _I wish she were awake, she makes things interesting._ He looked at the sky. _Well, at least I'm still around her. If Petunia hadn't of called-and I don't even remember when I got that phone- I never would of seen her again. _He glanced back at Mint. _Minuit... Midnight? I wonder why she was given that name. She hasn't a dark color on her anywhere-that I know of anyway. Only her eyes, and they're not even considered dark. _Mime looked back out the window. _Why Midnight?_

* * *

"_Sister! Sister!"_

_"Soleil!" A dark blue and black cat ran over to the white and gold kitten. "Soleil, don't worry! I'm here!" She pulled her sister to her in an embrace._

_"Where is your aunt Papillon?" A dark voice called out. The black cat looked up._

_"I won't tell you where Aunt Papillon is, never!" The man chuckled._

_"Then say goodbye to your sister." Soleil was suddenly pulled from the black cat's arms._

_"Soleil!" The black cat yelled as her sister disappeared in the dark. "Oh Soleil, mother and father will never forgive me..." The black cat lowered her head and ears._

_"Where is Papillon?"_

_"Don't tell him!" The cat's head lifted up. She saw her mother being held by the man, who was about to kill her._

_"Tell me or your mother dies." he said. "Sweet Miss Oriel Bayard will die if you don't say."_

_"N-no, I'll never tell you! I won't!" she shouted, tears flowing down her cheeks._

_"Suit yourself." He smirked, then tossed her aside really hard, making her hit a wall with a loud crunch._

_"Mama!" it was useless though. She could see that her mother was dead. "Mama..." She started sobbing. "Why did you kill her?" She yelled._

_"I warned you, Cat." He said with a laugh. "You have such a fitting name for an all-powerful but not-known sorceress." She lifted her head, her eyes wide._

_"How did you know-?"_

_"I know EVERYTHING." He stated with a laugh. "You know, your name is a little TOO fitting." He smirked. "Maybe we should make it a little less fitting, if you know what I mean..."_

_He held up his staff and pointed it at the cat and said with a laugh "Say goodbye to your midnight-black and cobalt-blue fur, girl! Say hello to mint-green and mint-blue everything." He smirked. "But let's face it, if you're all bright colors, that would be no fun. Dark Blue eyes will do perfectly." She screamed out as there was suddenly an excrutiating, burning pain. Her midnight-black hair turned to a mint-green color, her fur turned to a very light blue color, her muzzle and hands along with her ear tips and feet and tail tip were all light green. There were three spots on her neck that were the same shade of green as her paws. Her eyes, once an amber color, were now ocean-blue._

_She squealed in hatred. "What have you done to me, you monster?"_

_He laughed cruelly. Just then, the cat's father, a pure-black cat with cobalt-blue, ran over to them and stopped upon seeing his daughter crying and his wife, a pure white cat with golden hair, lying dead. The sorcerer turned to him. "Your youngest daughter is gone, your wife is dead, and your daughter has been changed." He laughed cruelly. "And it's all her fault. You can no longer call her by her name," He laughed. "For she is no longer Minuit!"_

Mint jerked awake, and realized she must have been a little reckless because Mime had a hold of her shoulder, Petunia looked scared, Cuddles had gone into a Gas Station's parking lot, and Giggles was clinging to the seat Cuddles was in.

"What were you doing, trying to kill us?" Petunia asked, hysterical. "You started kicking, and looked like you were yelling something, but we didn't know what, because you've become so silent! You even kicked Mime once or twice when he was trying to restrain you so you wouldn't hurt anyone! You even-" Cuddles cut Petunia's rant off.

"Were you crying?" He asked, looking closer at her fur. Mint quickly shook her head and tried to push Mime's hands off her shoulders, but it seemed like he didn't trust her not to try and kick him again.

"Maybe we should stop for the night..." Giggles suggested.

They went to a hotel and got one of those two-bedroom hotel rooms. Mime immediately claimed the couch though, because he didn't like the thought of sharing a room with Cuddles. Cuddles just shrugged and went to his room.

Petunia, Giggles, and Mint went into their room. It had two double beds and a single bed. Mint immediately walked over to the single bed and jumped onto it. The other two just randomly chose one of the two left-over beds.

Mint was afraid of going back to sleep, but soon sleep claimed her and she fell asleep again. The dream started out where it had left off...

_"No! I am Minuit, father! I am! Just because I look different doesn't mean I'm not Minuit!" Minuit stood up, her tear-stained face shining in the light._

_"Minuit... How could you let them die?" Audric asked his daughter. He shook his head slightly and looked down. "I can't believe you let him kill them."_

_"Don't worry, the little girl is still alive." He smirked. "Want her back? Give me what I want."_

_Minuit stared at the ground and said "Fine, I'll tell you where to find Aunt Papillon..."_

_"I don't want Papillon anymore." he laughed. "Minuit, you're a powerful enough sorcerous to get what I want done. Come here and I will turn you back to your normal self." He smirked. "You'll regain all your lost powers."_

_Minuit was shocked, but she started to obey, if only for the sake of dear little Soleil._

_"Minuit! Come here!" Audric ran over to his daughter and grabbed her hand. "There's no use of giving him what he wants... he's probably lying."_

_"But father, if he'll give Soleil back..."_

_"But then he'd be taking you away. It's a lose-lose situation, Minuit. And he won't give Soleil back, I guarentee you." He said, hugging his young daughter close to him._

_Suddenly, the room they were in faded away, and they were in a forest. Her mother's body was also gone, as was the sorcerer's._

_"Father.. H-he changed me..."_

_"I know, dearest Minuit. I know."_

_Minuit hugged her father tightly. "I don't feel the magic, father..."_

_"Along with your true form, he also sealed your powers, my dearest. I'm sorry..."_

_"Is there any way to regain them?" Minuit was worried. Her Aunt Papillon had told her that without magic, a sorcerer or sorcerous was defensless._

_"There is a way, but I don't know, my dear." He shook his head slightly and let his arms drop. "But maybe we can cheer you up with some ice cream. How 'bout it?" Minuit smiled slightly and nodded._

_"I'd like that, Dad..." she said quietly._

Mint woke up the next morning, a lot calmer. She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. Then she stood up and walked out of the room. _Well, I'm not totally defensless..._ she thought with a small smile.

"Mint! You're finally awake!" Petunia said. Mint stumbled and fell to the ground. She glared up at Petunia. "Eh heh, sorry.."

Mint stood up and dusted herself off. Then she noticed something; her paw was slightly darker... it had a blackish tinge to it. Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind. _When I fell down the stairs and broke my leg, my father said weird things were happening until they got my leg fixed, and that my fur was a lot darker than it should have been. And every time I died in Happy Tree Town, people say they thought my fur went straight from green-blue to black and blue... Could pain be what returns me to normal, if only for a few seconds?_

"Mint, why are you staring at your paw?" Cuddles asked as he walked over, a bowl of cheerios in his hands. Mint quickly shook her head and forced a smile.

Mime came over to see what was going on. He seemed to be the only one to notice her fur was darker. He frowned slightly, confused.

"Giggles is waiting in the car, come one!" Cuddles started pushing all of them along.

"B-but I haven't had my shower yet!" Petunia exclaimed.

"You already had two, though." Cuddles pointed out. Mint couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Mime lightly tugged Mint's wrist, then point to her fur in a confused way. Mint was confused also. _What's he mean?_

Mime thought for a second, then pointed to his own fur, then one of the blue lines on his shirt.

_Oh... he's asking why my fur got darker... _Mint shrugged with a sheepish smile. Mime didn't smile back. Mint's smile fell. She quickly looked out the back window.

"Turn around, Mint." Cuddles said. Mint sighed inaudibly and sat right.

The drive that day was uneventful.

"Mint... I know you won't tell us or anything, but what was that dream of your's about?" Petunia asked suddenly. Mint paled slightly and shook her head and looked down at the floorboard. All except Cuddles, who was watching the road, turned and stared at her.

When they all turned away from her, not wanting to see her so upset, Mint looked up at the ceiling of the car. Mime put a comforting hand on her shouder and smiled slightly. Mint smiled back.

Her secret seemed safe... but Mint knew they'd all figure out sooner or later, and they might even turn on her for it. _I really hope they don't... especially not you, Mime..._

~To Be Continued~

Yep, chapter in this one. -w- Why did I use French names? Cause I felt like it. :3 And why did I make Mint-or should I say Minuit- be a sorcerous? Cause that sprt of stuff is fun. I think I'm gonna go draw her original form.

And also, yes, Minuit is French for Midnight. And no, I do NOT know French, I know basic French, but eh.


	2. The Sorcerer and the Arrival

A/N: Yeeeeep. :) Chapter 2 already. -w- I know a lot of you might never comment, but still, enjoy! :D

--

Mint couldn't help but think about her past. It was so hard not to. _I wonder if they would abandon me if they found out I was a sorceress... a witch... ugh, I really hope not..._ Mint thought to herself.

"Hey, is everything okay back there?" Petunia asked suddenly, seeing Mint staring at the floorboard, deep in thought. Mint glanced up and nodded, then forced a smile. Truthfully, all she wanted to do was scream and yell at herself for being so stupid, but had to refrain from doing so. She really didn't want to, but she knew she had to let her anger out some way.

_Ah, well, win some, lose some..._ she thought. _Maybe they won't care that I'm a sorceress..._ she hoped they wouldn't.

_But they will care that you lied to them all about who you truely are._ a voice seemed to whisper in her ear. Her ears perked up slightly, because she recognized the voice. It was the sorcerer who killed her mother and took Soleil. _They won't accept you, young child. Papillon would be so ashamed of you if she knew just how low you've dropped._ the voice spoke in her head with a laugh. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the back of her mind and she jerked slightly, startling the others, but she didn't notice. _Tell me, do you like pain? Do you like the fact it reverts you to your old self? _the voice whispered mockingly.

Mint closed her eyes and put her hands to her head and shook her head. _Get out of my head!_ she shouted mentally. She could hear her friends' voices, but they were so distant. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a pure black room, standing in front of the Sorcerer. _How did I get here?!_

The man chuckled. "I brought you here. I saw you passing by at that hotel, so I decided to follow you." Mint didn't know how he knew what she was thinking, nor could she see his face to see if he was lying or not.

_I never forget a face..._ she thought

"Og course you don't, Minuit. That's the joy of being a Sorceress. And you won't recognize me, I'm always in desquise." He laughed. "And I can hear your thought here. Do you recognize this place? It's where your dear ol' mother met her demise. And your sister, Soleil I believe, was taken away." He smirked. "Don't worry, I only knocked you unconscious, so they won't think you've gone crazy."

_Knocked me unconscious...? B-but then they'll think I have a tumor or something, falling unconscious from seemingly nothing! _

"Exactly." He laughed. "But I think it's time you go back to your own demension. Unfortunately, I can't kill you until you're turned back into your sorceress form." He scowled. "Nor can I just kill your form right now, for you and I are both nothing but hellucinations here, but I will stay forever in your mind..." He smirked. "At least, until you're dead."

_Wait a minute!_

"Sorry, no can do." He said as everything started fading away. He smirked. "I can't wait to get all of you into this room, your soul, spirit, and body in here again so I can kill you." As he was just a barely visible figure, he said "Oh, and if you tell anyone about this, I swear, you will regret it dearly." Then he was gone.

Mint opened her eyes and found they had pulled over on the side of the highway, making sure she was okay.

"Oh, she's awake finally." Petunia said, smiling with relief.

"What happened?" Cuddles asked. "You just suddenly conked out there."

Mime was just staring at her curiously and with concern.

"What made you fall out like that? One second everything was fine, and the next thing we know, we thought you'd died!" Giggles said. "We were on the verge of calling the police..."

Mint sat up and quickly shook her head, but wouldn't look any of them in the eye. _I can't possibly let them know about the Sorcerer, or he may decide to kill them..._

They all watched her doubtfully, but they decided to dismiss it.

_Are you sure you want to lie to them even more? _the Sorcerer's voice came to her mind.

_Go away. _she thought to herself.

There was no reply.

--

_He's not gone, he's just hiding... _she thought to herself. _He's hiding in the back of my mind like the coward he is! _She closed her eyes and leaned back, frustrated. _Why did I have to fall for those puppy-dog eyes? Sheesh! I can't believe how crazy I was to actually let them come! Now because of me, they might get killed forever! I should have known that the Sorcerer would return! Why didn't I think about that?! I'm so stupid!_

None of the others seemed to notice their friend's frustration, for they all sat idly about, except Cuddles, who was driving. Mint glanced around. Petunia was pointing directions and saying which way to go, Giggles was staring out the window, and Mime had fallen asleep. Mint sighed inaudibly. She really wished they'd be there soon.

_If this takes much longer..._ she started thinking, _I'll have to tell them the truth... tell... not sign... TELL..._ She closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

--

The next day, they turned into the driveway of a brick house, one that Mint remembered very well. They all got out of the car, thankful to be able to stretch.

_That was a lot shorter than I expected... _Mint thought to herself. Suddenly, a familiar black cat stepped onto the porch.

"Minuit?" He asked. His face brightened up. "Minuit!" Without really any warning, he rushed down the steps and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Minuit, you got my letter?" Mint nodded, then hesitated and gestured towards her friends. He looked over at them curiously.

"Hi! I'm Giggles." Giggles said happily. "I take it your Mint's father?"

"Mint?"

"Minuit, as you call her." Cuddles said with a sheepish smile. "We call her Mint because, well, she does look kinda like a mint." Mint's father laughed slightly.

"That is true. I'm Audric Bayard."

"I'm Cuddles."

"I'm Petunia, and this is Mime." Petunia gestured to Mime and smiled. "He's, well, a mime, so he doesn't talk."

Mint didn't miss that faltering smile, but everyone else did.

_So he still has something against mimes, which means even if he won't have anything against me, he will have a problem with Mime..._ she thought.

"Well, come on in, don't be shy." He said with a smile. He led them all inside and, Mint believed, he unknowingly led them to their doom.

To be Continued

--

A/N: Ooh, I wonder what might happen next. :) Keep reading to find out! :) Sorry with how short it was, also, I ran out of ideas pretty quickly...


	3. A Truth in the Dark

A/N: Oh wow! On my two stories I posted yesterday, I got 25 messages, 2 of them being PMs, 10 being reviews, and all the rest being favs and alerts. :'D I didn't think I was that good at writing. ^^ THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! :'D

--

Mint walked through the hallway, up the stairs, and wandered back into her old room. The walls were navy blue, the carpet was dark green. She looked around. There was her miniature karaoke machine, and there was her axle with an old childish painting that her father would of called good. _I never was much of an artist... _She thought to herself. She continued looking around. There was her bed, always big enough so that when her friends slept over, they could all sleep on the bed. The sheets were a pastel-pink color, and the pillow white. There were old toys scattered across the floor. Sky-blue curtains hung at the wondows, and a mahogany-colored dresser was beside her bed. She flipped the light on and realized that the purple light bulb she'd gotten from her father a very long time ago was still in. They'd left it just as she had left it. _I never realized just how tacky and mismatched my room was... _she thought.

"Minuit! Minuit, dear," a feminine voice spoke. Mint cringed slightly. She turned and looked at the brown cat who was smiling brightly at her. "Minuit, dear, could you please show YOUR guests to the guest rooms?"

The cat who spoke was a brown cat with green eyes. Last time Mint had seen her, she had wore glasses, but she must have gotten contacts. She wore a small tight pink V-neck shirt that showed a lot of cleavage-which really disturbed Mint- and a small white mini-skirt that, Mint was sure, was the reason she got what she wanted. Mint scowled. She had never liked the woman. She hated even thinking of her as 'mother.'

_How did my father fall in love with such a woman? _she asked herself. She nodded coldly before running downstairs back to where her friends were.

Mrs. Bayard's smile dropped. She scowled around at the room. "Soon enough, I'll get rid of that freaky girl once and for all." She smirked. "He'll be so proud of me..." Then she turned around and walked down the hall, her head held high and a fake smile plastered on her face.

Unfortunately for her, there was someone hiding in the shadows...

--

Mint looked around at her friends and realized someone was missing. _Mime... Why am I not surprised? _she thought to herself. She sighed inaudibly and looked around. Just then, Mime came running down the stairs with an alarmed look on his face. Mint looked a little surprised as he was pointing upstairs and jumping up and down a little. _Does he need to use the bathroom? No... What, is he trying to sign 'danger?' _Mint couldn't make out his meaning, but she was as sure as she was sure her name was Minuit that he was signaling 'danger.'

"Oh, hello, kiddies." Mrs. Bayard came down the stairs and smiled sickeningly-sweet at them. Mime's arms immediately fell to his side as he watched Mint's step mother curiously.

_No, not curiously... suspiciously. _Mint thought to herself.

"Hello, Amanda." Audric came over and put his arms around his wife. Mint couldn't help but make a face. "Minuit, don't make faces like that, it's not polite."

Mint always found it odd the way her whole family had French names, but her step-mother, who she didn't actually consider family, had an American name.

"Kids, how about you go to the park?" Amanda suggested.

_We're not kids! _Mint exclaimed in her mind. She almost growled slightly, but restrained herself from doing so, and turned around and walked away.

The other four looked at each other before shrugging and running after Mint.

--

"I can't believe she called us kids." Cuddles complained. Mint shrugged, but stared down at the lake. It had been the lake her, Soleil, her mother, and her father had always gone to to camp during the summer. Mint was leaning against a tree.

"Minuit! Minuit, is that you?!" A voice suddenly shouted. Mint turned and was startled as a familiar white arctic fox tackled her to the ground.

_Briand! _Mint quickly pushed him off and stood up. Briand jumped to his feet, grinning.

"Adora, Minuit is back! Adora, c'mere, Midnight's back!"

A younger, smaller arctic fox came up. "Briand, you know you shouldn't of tack-MINUIT!" The little fox's eyes lit up when she saw Minuit, and she ran to her and huged her.

That was when another arctic fox came out of nowhere. "Brind, can you get Babette away from Minuit?" She, Adora, was the only one not to tackle Mint. "Hey, Minuit, who're they? Your friends?"

Mint nodded.

"Why don't you talk?" Babette asked. Adora elbowed her.

"Babette, don't be so rude. I find it obvious that she's a mime, considering the clothes." Adora smiled. "So, who are you all?" She aske, turning to Cuddles.

"I'm Cuddles, this is Petunia, this is Giggles, and this is Mime." Cuddles answered, gesturing to them each in term. "Oh, and we all simply refer to Minuit as Mint, so don't get confused." He said with a small smile.

"So what's it like being a mime?" Briand asked Mime and Mint. "How is it? Is it fun? Is it tiring? Is it-"

But he was cut off as the ground suddenly started shaking in an earthquake that only they could actually feel.

**Just ten minutes ago, in another dimension...**

"We got the one you're looking for, now give Soleil here!" Audric Bayard shouted.

"Not until you hand the young sorceress over to me, at all costs. Kill her friends if you have to, just _give me the damn sorceress!"_

"We'll _give _her over when you give Soleil back." Amanda said simply. She smirked. "Besides, I could always just kill her for you..."

"I don't want her dead! I have other plans for her!" The Sorcerer spat. "Amanda, you know very well what plans I have for her."

Amanda sighed. "Yes, _Master._"

--

"W-what's going on?!" Giggles shouted fearfully.

"I don't know!" Adora exclaimed. She fell backward, onto her brother, but Babette fell over on a tree root, which probably hurt her.

Giggles stumbled and fell against Cuddles, and Petunia quickly dropped to her knees beside them. Mime quickly grabbed Mint's wrist, as though she were about to disappear. But the thing is, she did. They all did.

--

"W-where are we?" Petunia asked, standing up and looking around at the dark, black room.

"You're in _my _dimension." A voice boomed out. Giggles and Petunia screamed and backed away.

Mint immediately jumped to her feet-she didn't remember falling or being pulled down though- and pulled her wrist out of Mime's grasp.

_What do you want?! _She exclaimed in her mind. At first they all thought she spoke aloud, though, because they all heard her. But then they noticed that she hadn't shown any sign of speaking, and that they didn't hear her with their ears, but they _heard her with their mind!_

The voice laughed, and a shape appeared. _I was just wondering if your friends knew the truth about you._

_I don't know what you're talking about!_

_Have you shown them what happens when you're in pain?_

Mint couldn't help but stumble backwards slightly, but then she regained her posture. _I've had no reason to be in pain, ya moron!_

_Mint? What's he talking about? _That was Cuddles' thoughts.

Mint shook her head.

_Tell me, Minuit, don't you want Soleil back? Don't you think maybe she wants to come home?_

Suddenly, there was the shout of a young child. "Minuit! Save me!" Mint stared at him in horror. "Minuit, please help meeee! They're hurting meeee! I need you, Minuit, help me please!!!"

_Tell me, Minuit, doesn't that just bring back a flood of memories? _the Sorcerer laughed cruelly.

_Shut up! _Mint exclaimed in her mind. _This is all a dream! When I wake up, you'll be gone forever! Just leave me and my friends ALONE!_

Everything started fading away, as though what she just said was true. _Minuit, I'll NEVER be gone forever, and you know it..._ Then the voice was gone.

--

They all woke up and looked at each other, then all turned to Mint.

Mint just decided to play innocent and ignorant and look at them curiously.

"W-was that a dream?" Giggles asked quietly.

"Must have been." Cuddles said, trying to comfort Giggles. "Must have been..."

They all nodded in agreement, but none of them truely believed it.

Mint turned away from the others. _They're suspicious now, I know they are..._

--To be Continued--

A/N: Another short chappie, and I'm thinking this story may be short, depending on how long I feel like dragging it out. :) and OMG they finally know about the sorcerer! And OMG Audric and Amanda are WORKING for the sorcerer! OMG! I wonder if her friends will betray her once they figure out that as long as they're with Mint, they're in danger... Well, I already know the answer, but you all have to read and find out. :)

Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. A Poem and a Discovery

A/M: Amazing... A-Maz-Ing. This is the second chapter I made in one day. :D Enjoy!

--

Mint couldn't get her sister's scream out of her head. She sat up in her room, on her bed with a book and a pad of paper. She was writing something withouit truelly realizing it. When she finished what it was, she read it and was surprised at herself. She tore the page out and was about to ball it up when suddenly Cuddles snatched it out of her hand.

"What's this?" Cuddles looked at it and smirked slightly. "A poem? I didn't know you were interested in poetry!" With that, he ran downstairs yelling "Guys, guys! Listen to this!" Mint jumped up and ran downstairs and saw Cuddles standing in front of them all. "Mint made a poem. Wanna hear it?" Without waiting for a reply, Cuddles started reading it aloud.

_Unseen tears slide down my face_

_Could this be the Lord's amazing grace?_

_I cannot tell if it's good or bad_

_How can it be good, if I've always been sad?_

_The Lord works in many ways_

_Some resulting to the best of days_

_But some get no luck, they're not so lucky_

_In fact, their lives can be quite sucky_

_Everything happens, the reasons unknown_

_There's a reason, but it's never been shown_

_The ones who most deserve the sun_

_Only get clouds, never any fun_

_The world seems unfair, I know it's true_

_But there's a reason, I never knew_

_When we give in, there's no more_

_They won, they beat us down to the core_

_Though things happen throughout the days_

_It's the Lord's doing, his many ways_

_Through the pain, joy he brings_

_None can replace, no diamonds or rings_

_When there's tomorrow, why today should I feel pain?_

_Why must I be forced to walk through the rain?_

_Though I'm alone, I'm alive and I know_

_God has many ways to help through the rain and snow_

_God has many ways_

_To help you through the days_

_There's no reason to feel pain_

_When, somehow, we're all the same_

Everyone turned and looked at Mint. Mint stared back at them, then turned to Cuddles and frowned. _I didn't even realize what I was writing! _

"Ahh, don't worry, Minuit, it's a great poem!" Briand exclaimed with a smile. Mint smiled slightly.

"Well, kiddies, run along now." Amanda said with a bitter-and obviously fake- smile.

They all-except Mime and Mint- grumbled something as they were ushered out.

--

"She really gets annoying, you know that, right?" Cuddles asked as they walked down a path in the park. They all nodded in agreement.

Mint looked at the sky and scowled. _Looks like a storm..._

"What's wrong, Minuit?" Adora asked, concerned. Mint shook her head, but then she gestured towards the clouds.

As she did so, it began to rain.

Mint scowled again because she hated the rain.

Babette started playing around immediately, jumping into the puddles that formed so quickly. Mint immediately knew something was wrong.

She felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Mime looking at her questioningly, obviously wanting to know something. But before he could gesture anything, they heard a scream. She quickly turned and saw Babette was gone.

"Babette!" Briand shouted. "Oh no, Aunt Amarante is gonna kill us!" He ran over to where Babette had disappeared. "Oh, please only be joking, Babette, or your mother is gonna kill us!"

_Oh no... No no no no nononono! _Mint knew exactly what had happened. _That... that... that CREATURE! Is he realy willing to capture my friends in order to get to me? But if he is... I-I can't let them know, so what CAN I do? _Then a thought occured to her. _...Leave?_

--

"Minuit, why are you in such a hurry to leave? You just got here!" Audric exclaimed. Mint looked up, and then at the door. It was the middle of the night, so all her friends were asleep.

She shook her head quickly and continued packing.

"Minuit, stay just a little longer... please? At least a day or two!" her father asked. Mint looked back at him, and seeing that sadness in his eyes...

So she decided to stay just a little longer. _A day or two can't hurt, can it?_

It could.

--

Mime lay in his room, just counting the dots on the ceiling. He was bored, and that was all there was to it. Mint's father always told him to stop with his 'foolishness' every time he tried to do something every mime did.

_Does he hate me or something? How can he hate someone that much, even when they're best friends with his daughter? ... Does he hate Mint too?_ Mime sat up with that thought. He looked around. The room was dark, and he didn't like it at all. If there was anything, _anything,_ that was bright, well, it must have been hidden because everything he'd seen so far had either been black or navy blue. He frowned. _Something's wrong here... _He jumped up and walked to the door and opened it a little. That's when he heard the voices, and they were pretty loud. He closed the door again; Silence. He opened it; voices. _The walls are soundproof!_ He thought. He closed it then opened it a tiny crack, and he listened carefully.

"...ster wants her alive, he has plans for her."

"I heard that, dear, but I want to know why he wants my daughter."

"Darling, would you rather have that little witch, or would you rather have an angel? A curse or a blessing? A key to Hell or a key to Heaven? Tell me, darling, which?"

"Well, I guess an angel, but-"

"Well, you gotta make a couple of sacrifices to get what you want." This was followed by a chuckle. "You want the light, not the dark. You want the sunshine, not a dark night sky. You want _Soleil _back. She's a normal girl!"

"I told you, my dear, I can train the witch not to be evil like she's desti-"

"Don't you understand? That's why the Master wants her! She's _destined _to be evil! She _has got _to be evil, or the balance of life will be knocked out of line!"

"Says the Master."

"The Master knows all, my love. Don't you understand? That child of your's is the most powerful sorceress since Papillon died! In fact, even more powerful than Papillon was, even at her young age! Her children will be even better, too!"

"So basically the Master wants my daughter as a Mistress?"

"No, I'm saying he wants her to be his _wife._" The female voice said. "He says she's the perfect match for him! Years ago, he hadn't realized that! But while watching her recently, he realized how powerful her magic was! She's the perfe-"

Mime had heard enough. He really didn't like where that was going. He closed the door quickly and quietly, then went back over to his bed. _That was Mr. and Mrs. Bayard... And that name, Soleil... Sunshine? It's familiar... That was the girl who had screamed for Mint... so... Mint said she only had one sister... if they're talking about Soleil, then that other girl must be Mint... Dark, night sky... Midnight. _He sat up. _So Mint's a sorceress?_

--

The next day, they were going along with their original happiness, but Mime seemed a little distant than he usually was.

Cuddles had to call his name at least five times before Mime realized Cuddles was trying to get his attention.

Mime ran right into a tree.

Mime tripped over a log.

Mime almost ran into an electric fence set on 1,000 bolts, but Mint had grabbed his arm before he did, which he was thankful for.

Mime fell into a hole.

_He's just out of it today. _Mint thought. That worried her a bunch. _What could be so distracting that he almost gets himself killed by an electric fence? ... Does he know? ... No, impossible, he couldn't... Could he?_

That was when all of a sudden, a storm came from nowhere. Giggles screamed once again and clung to Cuddles as though her very life depended on it.

_Which, _Mint thought, _it just might..._

Mint closed her eyes tightly and when she opened them, they were in that dark room again.

That's when she heard a thought passed from one of the others. Which one, she didn't know.

_...ress... I can't believe she's a-_

_Hey guys, we must be having that freaky dream again! _Giggles exclaimed in her mind. Mint nodded in agreement...

But then a voice came from nowhere. "THIS IS NO DREAM!"

They all screamed-except Mime, who mimed screaming, and Mint, who just stood there, unfazed.

_What do you want?_

"Mime boy, what thoughts were going through your mind before the chipmunck interrupted?" The figure appeared from nowhere, and Mint looked at Mime, who was staring blankly at her.

_He knows... _Mint thought, forgetting that her thoughts echoed to everyone else.

"Knows what?" Cuddles asked aloud.

_That... _Mime wasn't sure if he should say it. He didn't want to. He knew it would come out eventually without him meaning to, but why whould he tell them something Mint doesn't want them to know? Something he wasn't even _supposed _to know?

What was he supposed to do?

-To Be Continued--

A/N: MIME FIGURED OUT OMG! xD Oh and... If you're wondering, yes, I did write that poem. lol I know, it sucks. Anyway... Why did I include it in here? Because it helps out in the future. :) I bet y'all are wondering what Mime is gonna do, right? You'll just have to find out. ^^ (coughasthoughwedon'talreadyknowcough)

Anyway, enjoy chapter four! ^^


	5. Confrontation, Betrasion, and Sorcerer

A/N: Yea, I'm updatin' pretty fast, huh? :) I'm glad so many people enjoy my stories! ^^

--

Mime was silent. He didn't know what to do; it was either keep his thoughts from everyone and not lose his friends, or he could let them all know and lose one of his best friends-permanantly, most likely, and he didn't want that.

"Speak, boy!" The sorcerer yelled.

_You can't yell at him like that! He's not anyone's property! _Mint shouted angrily in her mind before realizing what she was thinking/saying. _And besides, he doesn't talk!_

"Oh, and why should you care?" The Sorcerer smirked and held out his hand. "Minuit, you don't belong with them. Come with me, and you shall see that things will be a lot better." He laughed slightly, cruelly... evilly.

As soon as Mime heard him say that, he remembered what Mint's step-mom had said and quickly grabbed Mint's wrist and pulled her back towards their friends. He watched the Sorcerer with a slightly angry, slightly challenging look. It was almost as though he were meaning _"Take one more step closer and you're dead."_

The Sorcerer scowled. "Pretect her all you want, you pathetic deer, but mark my words; You'll regret it!" Suddenly everything faded out, then back in, and they were back in the real world.

Adora immediately looked at Mint and Mime. "What's going on that you don't want us knowing about?"

Mime and Mint exchanged glances, then looked at Adora with blank looks that obviously stated 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Adora exclaimed. "Minuit, ever since the first day I've known you, you've always been so secretive! I'm sick and tired of it! Tell me what the Hell's going on!"

Mint was genuinely surprised at Adora. She had never spoken that way. Mint looked at the sky and shook her head to indicate 'nothing.'

"You're lying, Minuit. I'm not the smartest person around, but I'm not dumb, either! Why do you act this way?! Just tell the truth, or I'm leaving right now!"

"Adora, calm down!" Briand yelled at his sister. "If she wanted to tell us, she would, okay?"

"Friends don't keep secrets from each other though." Adora pointed out.

"That is true." Giggles said quietly. Everyone turned their attention to Minuit.

Minuit stood up and shook her head, and stared at the ground, obviously meaning 'I can't tell you.'

Adora stared at her coldly for a few seconds. "It's your fault Babette and Soleil disappeared, isn't it? Isn't it?"

Mint looked up, surprised. _How does she know about Soleil?_

"Soleil was Babette's best friend. Didn't know that, did you?" Adora said coldly. Mint didn't answer. "You know, if you won't tell us why my little cousin has disappeared or why your sister has disappeared, if you won't tell us who that guy was and what he wants with you, if you won't tell us _anything, _then I guess you don't see us as friends, and if you don't see us as friends, then I guess we're _not_ friends!"

There was a silence before Briand said quietly, "You know, Minuit, she's right..."

Adora turned around. "C'mon, if she doesn't wanna tell us, fine, but I won't stand for this kind of treatment. If you agree with me, _follow _me." Then she started walking away.

Everyone else stood still, then Briand started to follow his sister. He glanced back over his shoulder and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Minuit, but you know too that what she says is true..." He ran to catch up to his sister.

Then Cuddles broke away from them and followed. Giggles followed after, Petunia being last to follow.

Mime didn't follow. He was the only one not to. He turned to Mint and watched her for a second before putting his hand on her shoulder. He understood as well as Mint that the others had just abandoned her.

Truthfully, Mint didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. She knew that if they stayed with her they could get hurt or killed... or worse, see the other side of her.

_Mime knows I'm a sorceress, I can see that much... so why didn't he follow the others? Does he think I'm not a danger to him, or the others? _

As she was thinking this, Mime was having other thoughts...

_She knows I know, that's obvious... But what could this man want with her? Does he want to hurt her? And would he really be willing to kill innocent people just to get her? ... He won't take Mint away from me without a fight! _He thought angrily to himself. But then he realized how that thought was phrased. _... Away from me? Why did that cross my mind...? I don't think of her like THAT... do I?_ Mime confused himself. He didn't even know how he truly felt about Mint. ..._I'm sure I was just thinking too quickly..._

--

She sat on the bench, staring at the ground, wondering why no one could really understand why she couldn't say. Well, everyone except Mime. He was the only one who accepted the fact.

_I could always tell them all, but then they may never look at me the same again..._

Mime sat beside her, watching her with concern. She had a slightly darker tinge to her fur, and he had a feeling that it had something to do with her 'sorceress powers.'

_I wonder what she's thinking..._

--

"I want you to kill that deer."

"The mime?"

"Yes, girl, who else?"

"I'm sorry, Master."

"Anyway, I want you to kill him. I think him and Minuit have been getting a little to close for comfort."

"As you wish, Master. When shall I strike?"

"Tonight." Spoken with a cruel laugh.

--

Mint sat in her room later that day, thinking about what had happened just hours before. _Why does he still care about me.. if he know I'm dangerous? .. How'd he figure out in the first place? Surely it wasn't that obvious! _Of course, she'd known all along someone would figure out, she had just been hoping it wouldn't be so soon. _If they can't accept the fact that there are some things I just can't tell them... Well, I guess... I guess... I on't know what I guess... Are they still in any danger? If they are, it'll be even harder on me... maybe... maybe I can, just maybe, maybe I can defy what the Sorcerer said... Surely, surely I'm not meant to be evil... Am I?_

_--_

Mime stared at the ceiling again. _I know I made the right choice by not walking away, but did I make the safe choice? If we were back in Happy Tree Town, I wouldn't have to worry so much, but... But we're in a normal town now, where we'll die forever... Maybe we can go back to Happy Tree Town soon. _Mime pulled the covers over his head. _I just don't know what to do anymore... The right choice isn't always the safe choice, but... but it can help someone, even if it's not the person who made the choice..._

He heard his bedroom door open in a way that seemed to try to be quiet. Mime froze. He carefully peeked out from under the covers and saw Amanda Bayard holding something... and he immediately knew what it was; It was a knife!

Mime watched as she approached him.

"Don't worry, little mime deer person...thing...whatever, I'm not gonna hurt ya, I'm just gonna kill ya..." She said quietly and, if not for the words she spoke, in what could have been a soothing voice.

_She thinks I'm asleep! _Mime knew that that was at his advantage. As soon as she got near enough, she raised the knife, and at that same instant, Mime rolled out of the bed and quickly grabbed the knife and held it up, pointing it at her. She seemed very startled.

"I thought you were asleep!" she hissed angrily. Mime couldn't help but smirk slightly at that. He quickly dropped it and scowled slightly. He just couldn't believe the nerve of the woman standing in front of him.

_It's cowardice to try and kill someone while they're asleep. _he thought to himself. He carefully went over to the door, and realized for the first time that the lock was on the _outside_, not the inside. _They got everything figured out, don't they? _He backed out of the room and quickly closed the door and locked it. _Get out of that, why don't you?_

He quickly ran to a specific room down the hall from him and quickly threw the door open. He saw a familiar figure crouching down and picking Mint up. Mime's eyes widened as he realized who it was.

_That guy! The one who kept taking us to that place!_

Mime quickly ran forward and tackled the Sorcerer, not wanting him to take Mint. The Sorcerer just turned around looked at Mime.

"Do you really think a wimp like you can defeat an all powerful sorcerer like me?" he laughed cruelly. "You're lucky my hands are a little full right now, or else I'd kill you this instant." he smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a hidden Sorceress to change back into the Sorceress she's meant to be." With that, he kicked Mime and turned around and crashed through the window. Mime quickly jumped to his feet and ran to the window and watched in horrified defeat as the Sorcerer kidnapped Mint.

_Dangit! I should of known something like this would happen!_

Mime knew he really had no choice but to find Cuddles and the rest, and he knew he'd have to tell them the truth. There were two problems with that though; 1, how could he tell them without speaking? 2, Would they accept Mint after they knew she was a Sorceress who was destined to be evil and could possibly get them all killed?

_Would they?_

--To Be Continued--

OMG MINT HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED. Oh, and yes, I've finally made up my mind; the story is short, very short. :) In fact, maybe like 3 maybe 4 chapters left lol. UNLESS people ABSOLUTELY want it to be longer. xD

Anyway, how many of you knew that Adora was not very nice from the start? lol. :9

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. ^^

Also, I just can't seem to mke very long chapters anymore. :|


	6. Innocent become Chaos

A/N: Heh heh, I had nothing better to do, so yea... I don't own HTF or Mime, Cuddles, Giggles, or Petunia, but I DO own Mint/Minuit, Adora, Babette, Soleil, Briand, Audric, the Sorcerer(who's name has not been revealed) and Amanda. :) I'm also hoping that this will be a pretty long chapter...

--

Mime rushed outside and quickly rushed to the park. As he suspected, the people he'd expected to see there were there, taking a midnight stroll. He ran up to them and started jumping and pointing.

"Woah woah woah woah, Mime, slow down, and slowly signal what you're trying to say." Cuddles said.

Upon hearing that, he knew that there would be no time to signal. He only had one option that would save Mint in time; he had to speak. Though Mime didn't want to, he knew he really had no other option; he cared too much about Mint to let her be taken by that maniac.

"Mint's in trouble...!" He spoke for the first time in years, which startled everyone. His voice was kinda squeaky and cracked in places, but that was expected. Not using your voice for years and years had that effect.

"Who cares about her?" Adora asked, scowling. "She won't tell us the truth, so why should we save her?"

"I care! And she has a reason for not telling the truth!"

"There's no logical reason for her to lie!" Adora shot back.

Mime shook his head. _She doesn't understand! _"If you even care a little bit, right now is the time to show it! If she dies, I'm blaming _you_ because _you're_ the one who turned everyone against her!"

"ME? How did I turn everyone against her?! SHE'S the one who decided to lie to us all!"

"There's a difference in not speaking and lying, you know." Mime pointed out.

There was silence, then Adora spoke again. "But why didn't she tell us? Why?"

Mime hadn't realized how hard it woud be to tell them, but he knew they wouldn't help without the truth. "Because she's... she's... she's a sorceress."

**-Meanwhile-**

Mint slowly opened her eyes to find herself chained to a stone wall. _Wha...? What's this? Oh no... _She looked around. _This is what the black room looks like without everyhing being black... I'm in the black rom, chained to a wall... Didn't the Sorcerer say that once I was here fully that he'd kill me?_

"Ah, my dear, you're awake." the Sorcerer spoke, making Mint jump. "And no, I decided NOT to kill you. You're too valuable to just kill... but I will put you through so much pain that you will have no choice but to change back to your original form." He smirked, though she couldn't see this, and walked towards her. He then lifted a knife. Mint's eyes widened.

_You wouldn't...!_

"Oh, I would." With that, he put the knife against one of her chained arms and put pressure on it. She took in a sharp intake of breath as the knife easily cut deeply into her skin, and she couldn't help it; she gasped.

_Stop that, that hurts!_

"Oh, you haven't even felt the REAL pain yet." He laughed cruelly.

He then lifted the knife and put it to her cheek and not-so-gently put pressure on it.

Mint couldn't stop herself from trying to back up, but that caused her to hit her head on the wall and cause herself more pain.

"And you know, that's still minor pain. Now let's get to the REAL torture."

**-The Others-**

"SHE'S A WHAT?!"

Mime winced. He knew they wouldn't take it lightly, but if he didn't say anything, he'd never be able to convince them to come.

"Just help me save her, please!" Mime started. "She-"

"I'm not helping a sorceress! They're more commonly known as WITCHES you know!" Briand spat.

"Just because she's a sorceress doesn't mean she's not Mint, or Minuit, whoever you wanna call her!"

"She's not mortal either!"

"Yes she is! She feels pain just like the rest of us! She can even die!"

"How would you know that?!"

"Because I've seen her along with thousands of other friends die!"

Silence followed that statement.

Mime turned to Cuddles. "Obviously you all forgot that poem? 'There's no reason to feel pain, When, somehow, we're all the same!' She's still the same person we knew before!"

"But now it's different..."

Mime shook his head. "No it's not, not at all!" with that, he turned around and ran the way he saw the Sorcerer run away in.

_I should of known I couldn't count on them!_

All of a sudden, a familiar yellow rabbit was at his side. "Hey, c'mon now, if she's that important to you, why should I abandon you and her?" He smiled slightly. "Besides, you're right, she's still Mint."

GIggles came up on his other side. "And besides that, friends don't abandon each other."

Petunia ran up beside Giggles. "And all I have to say is, if she's a sorceress, well, what difference should it make?"

_All the difference... _Mime thought. He smiled slightly. Then they continued running.

Adora and Briand stayed behind.

**-Back with Mint and the Sorcerer-**

Mint bit her lower lip to keep from yelling out. _Please oh please stop! _she thought.

"I don't think I will." He smirked. Then he took the knife away from her arms and flames shot up from his hands, engulfing the knife. Then the fire extinguished and the knife was glowing red with heat. Mint's eyes widened. "Just stay still. If I'm not mistaken, a knife heated at 200,000 degrees fahrenheit should do the trick." He laughed.

_It would of melted at that heat, though!_

"Wrong, little girl. All my stuff is unbreakable." He laughed as he approached her again. "This will only hurt for the next couple hours, maybe a few days."

Mint tightly closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, but as soon as the knife touched her face, for the first time in months, she yelled out in pain.

**-The Others-**

"Where are we going?" Cuddles asked. Mime glanced at him, but refused to speak.

_I've spoken enough as it is!_

Mime suddenly skid to a stop, making Cuddles run into him, Giggles run into Cuddles, and Petunia run into Giggles, thus knocking Mime down. He stood back up and dusted himself off. He silently sighed and turned around and pointed at a building.

Giggles looked at the building and her eyes widened. The building was surrounded by black smoke. "There's no way I'm going in there!"

Mime looked at her for a few seconds before turning around and running towards the building.

Giggles sighed. "If we die, I'm blaming you, Mime!" she quickly followed and Cuddles and Petunia followed her.

**--With Mint--**

"You're very stubborn, girl." the Sorcerer scowled.

Mint took a few deep breaths and smirked kinda weakly. "Living in Happy Tree Town has taught me to bare pain a little better."

"Oh, so you finally speak, do you?" The Sorcerer laughed slightly. "You're just like your mother, you know. Stubborn, determined, trustworthy... loyal." he smirked. "_Very _loyal. I wonder what you would do if I hurt one of your friends... You've never been so angry that you'd shout at one of your friends, let's say... that blue deer." he smirked. Mint looked at him with suspicion.

"What are you suggesting?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing really, except maybe you'd be extremely angry if I hurt him. And maybe even you'd feel a little hurt that I would hurt your friends just to get to you." he smirked. "Any kind of extreme pain or anger can transform you. And I promise you, girl, I will release that other you."

"You're wrong, you know. This girl here has been a very good girl these past seven years since I saw you last. Without my powers, I've been able to train myself to _not _be evil. I'm on the good side, I'm the opposite of you and Aunt Papillon. Tell me, how is Aunt Papillon these days? Dead, if I presume correctly, right? You got angry when she refused you, so you killed her. You killed your own best fri-" the Sorcerer slapped her suddenly.

"Don't you ever mention that woman again! She was a disgrace to everyone! Didn't even know her own destiny!"

_Just as I thought... it's Jack. I never knew JACK was a sorcerer..._

"Of course I'm a sorcerer, girl!" Then the Sorcerer, Jack, pulled his hood back. The cat's eyes were a blood-red color, and his fur darker than the night time sky on a new moon. "Did you REALLY think I was a normal cat?! HA!"

"What do you want with me anyway?!"

"You're a powerful sorceress. What's _not _to want with you?!"

Mint knew what that meant.

"Aren't you a little old for me?" Mint scoffed. "And I thought you were trying to kill me!"

"_Au conraire_, Minuit, I am only eighteen, only four years older than you."

"Eighteen?!"

"You didn't _really _think I aged, did you? I can choose whatever age I want to be! I'm practically a god!"

Mint growled slightly. "You might _practically _be _a _god, but you're not _the _God!"

"SILENCE!" With that, Jack the Sorcerer, someone who Mint had once trusted, grabbed her arms and yanked her to her feet, unfastening her wrists from the chain with his staff. Then he threw her against the wall and laughed cruelly. "You didn't know your step mother and father were working for me, did you? They only want Soleil back!" he laughed. "Your friends don't want anything to do with you either! You have nowhere else to go!" he laughed again. "Besides, my original goal had been to kill you, but then I noticed how much control you had and realized just how powerful you were."

Mint stared up at him. Suddenly, a memory came to mind.

_Mime had come running down the stairs with an alarmed look on his face. I had looked a little surprised as he was pointing upstairs and jumping up and down a little. I didn't understand then, but he was gesturing a warning about my step-mother...! _Mint stood up with some trouble.

"Yes, I guess you should have seen that. Anyway, I'll give _you _the honor of killing all of your little friends." he smirked and pointed the staff at her. He muttered something under his breath and Mint fel a familiar burning pain in her body. "If I can't get you to change by using pain or anger, then I'll just change you back using magic!" he laughed menacingly. "Goodbye Mint, hello Minuit!"

Mint's fur changed from grean-and-blue to black-and-cobalt-blue. Her hair, though, was a mixture of cobalt blue and violet. Her eyes turned from mint-green to amber-colored. She gasped and collapsed against the wall.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before!" he laughed. "Minuit, who is your master?!"

Minuit looked up, her eyes glowing a little bit. She smirked evilly. "You are."

**--The Others--**

The smoke suddenly got darker, and they heard evil laughter.

"Come on, don't stand there, Minuit has gotta be in there!" They all turned around, startled. Briand and Adora were running up to them.

"What are you two doing here?" Cuddles demanded.

"We thought about what you had said." Adora answered, but said it to Mime as though he were the one who had asked.

Mime stared back, not very happy, but then he turned and ran into the building. The rest quickly followed. They all stopped in the entrance hall, where a black-and-cobalt-blue cat with cobalt-blue-and-violet hair stood. She wore a cloak around her shoulders, and stared at them with cold amber-colored eyes. The cloak covered any other kind of clothing she might have been wearing. She was smirking evily.

"And just where do you think you're going?" she laughed cruelly, but the voice was familiar.

"That's Mint!" Giggles exclaimed, suddenly afraid.

"I'm sorry, chipmunk, but I do not know who 'Mint' is." Mint stated with a laugh.

"Well then, Minuit!" Adora exclaimed.

Mint looked startled. "How do you know my name?"

It became clear that all her memories of them were obscured, gone, missing, not there... deminished.

"What has he done to you?!" Briand exclaimed.

"Minuit, it's us! Your friends!" Adora exclaimed.

Minuit stared at her for a second. "I have no friends." She raised her hand to the side and a black staff appeared in her hand, with a cobalt-blue orb with swirling black energy in the middle. "And I never met any of you in my life!"

(DUN DUN DUN!)

The others stared up at Minuit as she pointed her staff at them. "And I must ask you to leave, because I'm not very fond of killing, but if you go anywhere near the Master, I _will _kill you!"

"Don't wait for them to come forward, just kill them!" Minuit looked surprised, then turned around. The Sorcerer stood there.

"But Master, they haven't done anything wrong..."

"They're trespassing on our territory! Has being in that other form for so long made you soft girl?! KILL THEM!"

"As you wish, Master." she turned around and stared at them with cold eyes. "Prepare to die!" With that, she pointed the staff back at them, then centered it on Adora. She smirked. "Little arctic fox can say 'bye bye' to ever seeing that annoying little fox pup!" with that, she muttered something under her breath...

But before she could do anything, Briand tackled her. "IF YOU HURT MY SISTER, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Minuit fell to the ground. "GAH! That's it, NOW you've made me mad!" With that, she kicked Briand off of her and jumped into the air...

...and she was suddenly floating. The others stared up at her. She smirked.

"Being a sorceress gives me some advantages over you!"

"Minuit, please stop!" Petunia called out. Mint looked at her, her cruel eyes seeming to blaze with fire.

"Shut up, you pathetic raccoon!"

"I'm a skunk, not a raccoon!"

"WHATEVER!" And then Minuit cast a spell, and Petunia just barely escaped it. "STAY STILL, YOU LITTLE CREEP!"

"Stop it, Mint!" Cuddles exclaimed.

Minuit scowled. "My. Name. Is. NOT. MINT!" She yelled.

That's when Mime started jumping up and down, pointing towards the Sorcerer, then pretending to die, then quickly jumping back up, then pointing to Mint herself. Mint was confused.

"Why don't you just speak, you stupid deer?"

Mime looked kinda hurt, but he quickly shook his head.

"Cuddles! I think I got a plan!" Briand suddenly exclaimed.

Cuddles looked at him. "What is it?"

"What if we bring up times of her past, so as to bring back memories!"

"That's a great plan!"

"Hey, Minuit, remember the first day of third grade?? When we first met? At recess, you remember? When I accidentally hit you with my paper plane! You remember that?!" Briand suddenly exclaimed. Minuit looked at him with cold eyes, but something seemed to register in her mind.

"Remember when we nicknamed you Mint? In your other form? We nicknamed you Mint because you looked like a mint! Do you remember that. Minuit?" Cuddles asked, making sure to call her Minuit and not Mint.

"Remember the sleepover we had at my house during the second week of you being in Happy Tree Town? After the fifth time you'd died that week? Do you?" Giggles asked, realizing what they were doing.

"Remember when I helped pick out a house for you during your first few days there? Remember how I helped you organize everything, and how I taught you how to use the stove?" Petunia questioned.

"Do you remember when Babette was first born? How we thought she was going to be a huge problem, but she turned out to be the best cousin and friend any two girls could wish for, even though she was only three when you left? Remember?" Adora added.

Mime, though, he'd had enough of speaking, so he pulled his unicycle out of nowhere and jumped on it and started juggling three rubber balls, then he jumped down and made an invisible lasso, then tossed it around Cuddles(pulling him to the ground), then did the whole 'zip the lip' movement. He was refferring back to when he was helping her become a mime.

Suddenly. memories came flooding back to her; The Sorcerer killing her mother, the Sorcerer taking Soleil, her father yelling at her for the first time ever, running away from home, meeting the Happy Tree Towners, asking Mime for help, getting the letter, coming back, the Sorcerer threatening her and her friends, the Sorcerer taking Babette, the Sorcerer changing her back. She remembered _everything._

"Be quiet, you pesky children! You'll ruin my plans!" the Sorcerer yelled, not knowing his plans were already ruined.

"No!" Cuddles exclaimed, but just as he said this, Minuit's staff fell from her hand, and the cloak started disappearing in and turning to black sparkling dust that obscured Minuit from everyone's vision for a couple of seconds, then when she was just barely visible, you could see she was back to the way she was when her friends met her.

The staff fell to the floor and the crystal orb shattered, sending crystal pieces everywhere. Everyone shielded their faces from it.

Mime glanced back at Mint and realized she had started to fall.

**--To Be Continued--**

WOAH, that's a pretty long chapter. ;D Not much more to go now. So, did I make this chapter dramatic enough? XD Too dramatic? Not dramatic enough? lol

Hmm, I guess Adora isn't as bad as you'd think. XD And I'd been fighting a battle with myself whether to make Mime talk or not in the beginning, but I guess you could see what I finally chose. And OMG, Mint is so creepy in her sorceress form. XD Hmm, I wonder what kind of bad luck the broken orb will bring. and OMG MINT IS FALLING! ... Aww, well, it's kinda obvious who saves her, I guess. XD Anyway, tell me what you think! Were you on the edge of your chair, your adrenaline pumping, or were you just laying back and yawning? XD Please tell me. ^^ Reviewers will get ice cream! ^^


	7. The End of it All Or is It?

A/N: I decided I'm gonna finish this story before updating "Wisdom Comes from the Heart" because in the next chapter of that, it related a little to the end of this story, kay? :)

And, this chapter's a little predictable... lol xD

--

Mime quickly dashed forward and caught Mint before she hit the ground. Mint wasn't heavy, not at all, but falling from 25 feet in the air had a lot of force, so when Mime caught her, he fell to his knees from the force of Mint's fall.

The first thing Mime noticed was she was ice-cold. He looked up at the Sorcerer, who scowled at him. Mime scowled right back.

"You didn't know I filled that orb that had just broken with her feelings and memories, did you? HA! I knew you'd come here, so I made sure she'd be willing to kill you, but unfortunately, getting rid of all her memories would have destroyed her completely. Unfortunately, I didn't know you would make her break it." he smirked. "Maybe it's better this way. She may remember certain parts of her life, but you'd have to reteach her a lot of things, and remind her of a whole lot of stuff. She's not dead... yet." he smirked. "Though her life energy is lowering even as we speak. I predict that within an hour, she'll be dead." he laughed. "And you'll _never _be able to get her out of here in time!"

"Hey, Magic Guy, turn around and you'll get the shock of your life!" Adora's voice rang through. They all suddenly realized that Adora had disappeared. The Sorcerer turned around and saw the arctic fox holding the hand of a young gold-and-white cat.

_Soleil...!_

Briand stared at the little girl in amazement. Last he saw her, she had been five years old. Now she was 12 years old, just two years younger than Minuit. Soleil stared at them all fearfully. The she looked around.

"W-where is Minuit? A-A-Adora s-said she was h-here...!"

Cuddles pointed to where Mint and Mime were. Mime was shaking her slightly, a fearful look in his eye.

"M-Minuit? T-that's not Minuit though...!"

"It is. The Sorcerer changed her." Adora looked at young Soleil. "You're a sorceress, right?" Soleil nodded.

"T-the Sorcerer has been training me, too, but he has to use Aunt Papillon's old book b-because I can't cast any s-s-spells from his book, b-because they're d-dark magic..."

"Well, do you by chance know how to teleport?"

"Y-yes... That's one I've learned, but he f-f-forbids me from using that spell."

"Well, your sister's life depends on that spell. Do you think you can cast it?"

"Y-yes! I-if Minuit's life depends on it, of course!"

"NO!" the Sorcerer shouted, coming forward and pointing his staff at Soleil. "That spell is forbidden for you! If you even attempt it, I will kill you all!"

Cuddles jumped forward and knocked the staff from his hands. The staff's orb also shattered, and black mist also rose from it. "Can't cast any spells without a staff, can ya?!"

"My staff! You little cretin!" He turned to Cuddles angrily, trying to hide the fact he was totally defenseless.

Soleil pulled her own staff out of nowhere. The actual staff part was pure white, and the orb was clear, with a gold gas-like substance in the center.

"STOP!" The Sorcerer yelled. Soleil nearly dropped her staff from the unexpected shout, but quickly regained her grip on it and glanced around. "I-I need to know your names so this will work..."

They all introduced themselves(Cuddles introducing Mime) quickly so she'd know what to do. Then Petunia suddenly said "And take us to Happy Tree Town!"

She took a deep breath and starting speaking in a language none of them except the Sorcerer understood.

Then there was a bright light and they all quickly closed their eyes, so as not to be blinded.

When they opened their eyes, they were in the center of a town they recognized very well(except Briand and Adora).

"We're back!" Cuddles yelled with relief. Just as he yelled this, a frisbee flew by and cut his head off.

Giggles stared in horror, then laughed slightly and nervously. "Yep, we're back alright."

Soleil screamed in fear and clung to Briand's leg. "W-WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

Adora suddenly fainted as blood splashed on her nice clean white fur.

"I don't kno-" Just then, a huge block of ice fell from the sky, instantly killing them all.

**--At a Hospital--**

Adora opened her eyes and saw Cuddles standing over her, smiling brightly. "Yea, takes a while for people who just now arrived in this town to come back." he said with a laugh. "We were gone so long, it actually took us a pretty good while as well."

Adora screamed. "NO WAY! I SAW YOU DIE! YOU'RE DEAD HOW CAN THIS BE?! ... Where am I?"

"You're in the Happy Tree Town hospital." Adora looked over at Giggles. "Most people in this town come here at least once a day." she stated this as she pointed to two green raccoons, who were halfway gone. "They're still reviving. They feel the pain next. When they wake up, anyway." she laughed slightly. "Some are afraid to die here, even though they know they'll come back. But the thrill of being afraid of dying is what makes it fun!"

"_Dying _is considered a _game _here???" Adora asked, surprised.

"Yep." Cuddles answered before Giggles could. "Why not since it's impossible to die forever here?"

**--Later that Day--**

"Welcome to Happy Tree Town!" The Happy Tree Towners chorused(except Mime and Mint).

Adora, Briand, and Soleil all looked around, genuinely interested in their surroundings. Never dying sounded like a pretty good deal.

They were introduced to everyone, and they experienced the wrath of Flipped-Out Flippy. Soleil had been hung during that, Briand skinned, Adora stabbed many different times, Mime had been sliced in half, Mint(who had fully recovered, but still had some lost memories) was decapitated, Shifty and Lifty(who were also fully healed) were both burned by a flame thrower, Petunia had fallen into a pit of very poisonous snakes, Giggles had been speared right in the heart, Cuddles had been exploded by a grenade, Lumpy was crushed by a huge rock that Flippy did not cause the falling of which means he caused it himself in his fear, Pop and Cub were torn to pieces, Cro-Marmot was not there to begin with, Toothy was chopped into many pieces, The Mole had fallen into a pit full of spikes, Disco Bear was hit with a disco ball and killed when it shattered, Flaky had actually lived, Russell was gutted, Nutty was choked, Handy was drowned in a lake, and Sniffles had his snout/trunk/whatever it is torn off then was speared in the face, which made it through his brain and out the other side of his head.

**-A Few Days Later-**

"Everything's back to normal now." Cuddles said while drinking some soda pop. He laughed slightly as he watched Adora running away from killer-dogs(the same ones from _Doggone It_).

Mint nodded her agreement. Her arm was in a sling because she'd been attacked by one of those killer-ducks(the ones from _Mime to Five_) earlier that day. She was leaning against a tree, where Splendid was eating some nuts. Mime was sitting next to her. He yawned slightly, then ducked as a knife went right for his head. Mint jumped a little and glanced over and saw the Mole and Russell tossing knives as a game. Mime shook his fist at them, and Mint couldn't help but laugh inaudible.

"Yar, sorry there, matey!" Russell yelled.

Mint glanced back at Mime and saw him looking at her. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Life wasn't so bad.

--The End--

Told you it was short. MAYBE I'll do a sequel, I dunno yet. What do y'all think? :) And yes, the fact that Babette hasn't returned is the whole thing that makes the possibility of a sequel. XD

Hope you liked, though this chapter is pretty boring. -.-


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